ABDULRAHMAN ABDULHADI

Meet the 24-year-old Abdulrahman Abdulhadi from Egypt whose work focuses on creating Arabic vintage movie posters with modern day icons.

Inspirations or influences?

I have always loved art, and I admire it in all its forms from written to the visual. I began expressing my work though writing on pictures to realizing soon enough that my favorite way is to mix Arabic calligraphy with photography, and so I began designing Western- Eastern posters in 2019. I am inspired by music, old art, and everything that’s old. Things that are nostalgic are my definition of “ beauty”.

Tell us about your creative process, please.

I start with a spark of an idea and a load of passion picking an artist that I interact with heir art. I think how do I express this artist with a touch of Arabic calligraphy? So I explore the idea and I head over to my desk. I start the process of searching for just the right photo of the artist and sometimes, I draw the characters myself, allowing me to be more creative. The character can be from a movie, a series, or a band. Then, I start choosing the color scheme which is important for the chemistry. Sometimes the poster will include many characters so I arrange them strategically and sometimes according to importance. Now I have a harmony of characters, colors, words, calligraphy and feeling. The final touch is applying the right filters that give the poster a vintage or nostalgic feel.

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Leila Antakly

Leila Antakly is the founder and editor of Antakly Projects, the independent cultural platform she launched in New York in 2003 as Ninu Nina. Syrian and Colombian, she began her career at Vogue Italia and has spent more than twenty years in conversation with artists, musicians, designers, photographers, and inspiring thinkers around the world.

https://www.ninunina.com/
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